Publish date: 8 March 2021

Author: Joanne Moore2

Following changes to national guidance, we are now able to offer appointments through our vaccination centre to all those aged 55 and over.

We are only able to offer first vaccine appointments this week as our vaccination centre will be focusing on second vaccines from Monday 15 March.

Appointments can be booked for yourself or for someone you know who is within one of the top eight priority groups as identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI):                                                           

1)    Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers

2)    Those 80 years of age and over / frontline health and social care workers

3)    Those 75 years of age and over

4)    Those 70 years of age and over / clinically extremely vulnerable (shielding) individuals of any age

5)    Those 65 years of age and over

6)    Those aged 18* to 65 in an at-risk group

7)    Those 60 years of age and over

8)    Those 56 years of age and over

* Please note, while the JCVI includes those aged 16 and over in group six, we are administering the AstraZeneca vaccine this week which is only approved for adults aged 18 and over.

Appointments must be booked online. People cannot just turn up. You will have to make the booking as you are not allowed to share the booking link. You will need the person’s NHS number to book and they must bring it to their appointment.

The whole process (including pre-checks, paperwork and aftercare) is expected to take between 30 and 45 minutes, even though you are booking a 10-minute slot. All appointments are at the Gail Briers Education Centre at Hollins Park in Warrington.

Anyone attending in priority group six will need to demonstrate on arrival at the centre which category applies to them. Examples of this may include medication they take for their condition, a letter from their GP or specialist confirming their diagnosis / treatment plan, or if eligible as an adult carer, confirmation of the condition of the person they care for.

Unfortunately, other key workers have not been called to be vaccinated. This means we still can’t vaccinate teachers, police, bus drivers etc unless they meet the criteria in priority groups one to eight.

Managers and team leaders, please share this update with any of your staff who don’t have regular access to emails. 

Full details about the vaccine, booking process, what to expect at the appointment and FAQs are on StaffZone.